Saturday, May 1, 2010

Defense dooms Mike Pelfrey and Mets

Mike Pelfrey's 27-inning scoreless streak and the Mets' eight-game winning streak both came to an end with the help of two popups that were in, then out of the gloves of Jose Reyes and Alex Cora.

No, Squawker Lisa, these weren't reminiscent of Luis Castillo last year in the Subway Series. They were tough plays that would have been great catches had they been made. But they were catchable, particularly the Reyes one. Had the catches been made the Mets might well have gotten out of the fourth inning without any damage. Instead, the Phillies scored six runs and ended up winning, 10-0.

So for the second day in a row, a lopsided game might well have been decided by two early defensive plays. On Friday, Jeff Francoeur and Jason Bay made the plays, Jon Niese got out of the second with only one run scored, and the Mets went on to win, 9-1. Saturday, Reyes and Cora didn't make the plays.

The Mets probably weren't going to win this game the way Halladay is pitching, but it does show how a couple of defensive plays can determine the direction of the whole game. At least this year, the Mets have generally made these plays, so they still have a split in the series with a good chance of winning the series and staying in first Sunday night with Johan Santana on the mound.

*

Squawker Lisa, I see your cat-themed Derby picks went up in smoke. But look out for my pick, Ice Box, in the Preakness.

Speaking of which, looks like Curtis Granderson may be on ice for awhile. Meanwhile, Johnny Damon, who wasn't enough of a "Super Saver" for Brian Cashman to re-sign, gets a walkoff homer the day after Austin Jackson goes 5-for-5.

And as for Javier Vazquez pitching well in a Yankee uniform, that's truly "Mission Impazible."

2 comments:

I actually thought of going to one of the Mets-Phils games in Philly this weekend. Too bad for Pelfrey that I didn't go yesterday. Without me, he can't find the plate with a compass.

Tonight's game is the most important of the season for the Mets. A Met win, and while the Phils could bounce back, the Mets will gain a truckload of confidence. A Phils win, and the Phils will go on as before, while the Mets will realize, hey, wait a second, we could actually challenge for this thing, maybe even win it.

So, naturally, Ike Davis is getting sat tonight, against Jamie Moyer, the only man to play for the Phillies on both their 1980 and 2008 World Championships. (Joke. Barely.) Way to go, Jerry Manuel.

Oops. What I meant to say is that, if the Mets win tonight, they will think maybe they can win this thing after all; but if the Mets lose, they'll go back to being what they were before this hot streak began, a Mess.

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Lisa is a Yankee fan from Staten Island. Jon is a Met fan from Manhattan. These best friends have been squabbling about their teams -- and each other -- since 2006. Now they are writing about New York City life beyond baseball.